Portable pile driver



Aug. 2, 1949. w. R.- FAIRCHILD 2,477,867

' PORTABLE FILE DRIVER OriginalFiled July 19, 1944 2 S heets-Sheet 1 m m, g

Inventor Aug. 2, 1949.

Original Filed July 19, 1944 w. R. FAIRCHILD 2,477,867

PORTABLE FILE DRIVER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 angle iron is connecting the runners at the tops of their vertical flanges and welded thereto, a filler plank l9 being fitted in the angle iron l8 and bolted to the latter as at 20.

One of the cross-members I4 is arranged at the front end of the supporting base or skid and includes a plank 21 having an angle iron 22 fitted and bolted upon the forward upper corner thereof. The lower ends of the side rails of an A- frame 23 are pivoted at 24 to the angle iron 22 upon axes transverse to the supporting base or skid. Due to the pivotal mounting at 24, the A-frame 23, together with the parts carried thereby, may be folded rearwardly and downwardly onto the supporting base or skid to facilitate transportation of the pile driver from one I place to another when the pile driver is not in use. Suitable means is provided to releasably support the A-frame and parts carried thereby in an upwardly swung operative position perpendicular to the supporting base or skid, which means includes a jointed brace composed of links 26 and 28 and a prop 3|, as disclosed in my above mentioned co-pending application.

The A-frame 23 forms part of a pile driving means including a pendulum frame 36 carried by the A-frame 23 and provided with hammer leads or guides 31 for a gravity or drop hammer 38. The hammer 38 is adapted to be raised by conventional means including a hoisting cable (not shown) which is adapted to be extended rearwardly and downwardly from the top of the pendulum frame to the hoisting drum of a suitable portable hoisting truck or vehicle driven onto the rear end of the supporting base or skid.

Planks 59 are laid across and secured to certain of the transverse members [4 of the supporting skid at the rear end of the latter and respectively adjacent the inner sides of the trusses 1 as shown in Figures 1 and 3. Disposed upon and secured to the inner or forward ends of the planks 59 transversely of the skid is a bumper bar 60. The planks 59 form tracks for the hoisting truck, and the bar 60 forms a chock for the rear wheels of said truck when the rear of the latter has been backed into proper position upon the rear end of the base or skid. By making provision for the use of a separate hoisting truck that may be driven off of the skid, the pile driving means may be compactly folded onto the skid even though the latter is no longer than the pile driving means. This eliminates a permanent hoisting mechanism on the base or skid which would otherwise be in the way of the pile driving means when folded, and it also reduces the overall weight of the pile driver proper so that movement of the skid over the ground is made possible with the expenditure of relatively less power,

From the foregoin description, it is believed that the construction and advantages of the present invention will be readily understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art.

-What I claim is:

l. A supporting skid for a pile driver comprising a pair of similar downwardly bowed runners having their end portions similarly gradually inclined to the intermediate portions thereof, transverse bars secured at their ends directly to the runners and rigidly connecting the latter in spaced parallel relation, a truss of the Pratt type holding each runner in its bowed form and including a pair of oppositely inclined straight top chords directly joined at their higher inner ends and directly secured at their lower outer ends to the ends of the runners, said trusses forming fences along opposite sides of the skid, the space between said trusses being substantially unobstructed from end to end of the skid above said transverse bars.

2. A supporting skid for a pile driver comprising a pair of similar downwardly bowed runners "having their .end portions similarly gradually inclined to the intermediate portions thereof, transverse bars secured at their ends directly to the runners and rigidly connecting the latter in spaced parallel relation, a truss of the Pratt type holding each runner in its bowed form and including a pair of oppositely inclined straight top chords directly joined at their higher inner ends and directly secured at their lower outer ends to the ends of the runners, said trusses forming fences along opposite sides of the skid, the space between said trusses being substantiailly unobstructed from end to end of the skid above said transverse bars, and a downwardly and inwardly inclined lateral brace for each truss connecting the latter at the joint between the inner ends of its top chords with one of said transverse bars.

3. A supporting skid for a pile driver comprising a pair of similar downwardly bowed runners having their end portions similarly gradually inclined to the intermediate portions thereof, transverse bars secured at their ends directly to the runners and rigidly connecting the latter in spaced parallel relation, a truss of the Pratt type holding each runner in its bowed form and including a pair of oppositely inclined straight top chords directly joined at their higher inner ends and directly secured at their lower outer ends to the ends of the runners, said trusses forming fenses along opposite sides of the skid, the space between said trusses being substantially unobstructed from end to end of the skid above said transverse bars, each runner comprising an inverted T-bar provided at intervals and at opposite sides with substantially triangular transverse bracing webs between the intermediate and the head flanges thereof.

4. A supporting skid for a pile driver comprising a pair of similar downwardly bowed runners having their end portions similarly gradually inclined to the intermediate portions thereof, transverse bars secured at their ends directly to the runners and rigidl connectin the latter in spaced parallel relation, a truss of the Pratt type holding each runner in its bowed form and including a pair of oppositely inclined straight top chords directly joined at their higher inner ends and directly secured at their lower outer ends to the ends of the runners, said trusses forming fences along opposite sides of the skid, the space between said trusses being substantially unobstructed from end to end of the skid above said transverse bars, each truss further including vertical posts and inclined tubular form braces extending between the chords and the runner, the lower ends of the posts being slotted to receive the intermediate flange of the runner and being welded to the latter.

5. A supporting skid for a pile driver comprising a pair of similar downwardly bowed runners having their end portions similarly graduallly inclined to the intermediate portions thereof, transverse bars secured at their ends directly to the runners and rigidly connecting the latter in spaced parallel relation, a truss of the Pratt type holding each runner in its bowed form and including a pair of oppositely inclined straight top chords directly joined at their higher inner ends 2,477,867 v M 5 6 I and directly secured at their lower outer ends to the ends of the runners, said trusse forming REFERENCES CITED fences along opposite sides of the skid, the space Th f llowin references are of record in the between said trusses being substantially unob= file Of this P nt structed from end to end of the skid above said 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS transverse bars, each runner comprising an inverted T-bar provided at intervals and at oppo Number Name Date site sides with substantially triangular transverse 314,837 Haslup 1335 bracing webs between the intermediate and the 352,337 Potter 16, 1336 head flanges thereof, and a laterally inclined 10 5011637 Hubbard -0 t.1 ,1893 metal strip extending longitudinally of each run- 1,256,707 Lonsinger 1913 ner substantially from end to end of the latter 1,280,444 1 and disposed across and welded to the inclined 1,473,795 Plnald 1 edges of the reinforcing webs at one side of said 1,905906 Kaltenbach et 3 runner, said metal strips spannin the space be- 15 2,099,393 Larkil} OV. 3, 7 tween the free edge of one head flange of the 2,215,330 Gledhlll Sept. 24, 1940 runner and the upper edge of the intermediate flange thereof.

WILLIAM R. FAIRCHILD. 

